Real Life Patient Stories

Real innovation is right here, and it happens every day through clinical trials, new treatments and groundbreaking discoveries. Whether we’re studying new drugs, formulating new vaccines or boosting transplant outcomes, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute has helped to impact, extend and improve the lives of thousands of patients. We could tell you more about how our research has changed their lives, but we’d rather let you hear it from some of them in their own words.

Patients

We recently caught up with five patients who now have a second chance at health because of discoveries made at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute. From clinical trials related to high cholesterol and diabetes to cancer and hepatitis, watch their remarkable stories:

Hepatitis C Treatment Gives New Hope to Texas Rancher

A late-night car accident more than 40 years ago resulted in Harold Bowles’ receiving nine units of blood. Six years after that, he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and eventually developed cirrhosis of the liver. Four decades and two liver transplants later, Harold had lost hope. Find out what happened when he enrolled in a Baylor Scott & White Research Institute Hepatitis C clinical trial.

Mother of Two Credits Clinical Trial for Saving her Life

Many people envision skin cancer as being detectable by an enlarged mole or dark area of the skin. The truth is, the disease can’t always be seen. For Teri Rodgers, who was diagnosed with Stage 3-4 melanoma in 2007, the knot in her armpit clued her in. After two years of aggressive treatment, the cancer seemed to be defeated, but it returned six months later. Find out what happened when Teri took the next step and enrolled in a melanoma vaccine clinical trial.

Cholesterol Research Helps Active Dad Get Back to Life

Born with a genetic disorder that caused his body to produce too much cholesterol, John Mihalopoulos enrolled in a clinical trial after it became clear that he wasn’t responding to the available prescription drugs. As an active, 50-year-old cyclist and father of four, John wanted an alternative that would combat his condition while giving him the strength and endurance to live his life. Watch John’s story to learn more about his involvement in the clinical trial.

Type 1 Diabetes Patient Tries Experimental Drug in New Clinical Trial

It may have been trauma from a car wreck that triggered David Brigance’s Type 1 diabetes more than 30 years ago. As a result of that accident, his pancreas was damaged, preventing him from producing normal amounts of insulin. David explains what happened when he tried a new experimental drug designed to improve quality of life for Type 1 diabetics.

New Mexico Man Gets Aortic Valve Replacement—and a New Lease on Life

His symptoms started with a loss of energy and shortness of breath, but Joaquin Provencio assumed these were side effects of a medication he’d started taking. After seeing several doctors and heart specialists, Joaquin learned that his aortic valve was only functioning at 33 percent. With his condition deteriorating quickly and hopes for surgery dashed by a physician who refused to operate because of his age—he was 86 years old at the time—Joaquin enrolled in a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) clinical study. Watch his story in the video.

Patents

The Baylor Scott & White Research Institute Innovation Office protects and commercializes BSWH’s intellectual property through patents. With more than 600 issued patents and pending applications—and more than $2.1 million generated from intellectual property (IP) agreements in 2014-2015 alone—the Innovation Office ultimately seeks to improve the lives of patients. In recent years, we have successfully licensed several hundred patents—from colorectal biomarkers to immunogenomic fingerprinting and many other areas of patient-focused research.

2014-15 Numbers Highlights

379Total patents & patent applications

150
Total issued patents

16
Pending PCT patent applications

36 invention disclosures

10
newly filed provisional patent applications

9newly filedPCT applications

24issuedpatents

$793,632
Revenue generated from IP agreements per FY

49Newly executed MTAs

10Newly Executed Data Sharing/DataUse Agreements

9Research collaboration agreements

Awards

Our work at the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute is focused on the patient. It involves more than clinical trials and lab tests and brings research right to the patient’s bedside. And as a result of our successes in bench, clinical and outcomes trials and studies, researchers and centers alike have been recognized for their significant contributions to medicine with awards from notable organizations such as the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and the Texas Society of Vascular and Endovascular Surgeons.

Dario Kivelivetch, MD

Mark Millard, MD

Appointed the Wanda and Collins Endowed Chair in Pulmonology

2014 Publications of Baylor Scott & White Research Institute Medical and Research Staff

Over the past year, many BSWH researchers have had their manuscripts published in esteemed science journals, from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) to many others. In doing so, these authors and co-authors have shared their investigative knowledge and findings with the medical community and have represented BSWH research worldwide. Congratulations to the researchers who have performed such groundbreaking medical research.

Select Publications by Category

Cardiology, Cardiac, Vascular And Thoracic Surgery

Assessing the risk of aortic valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis in the Transcatheter valve era.

Research Findings

At the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, we have some of the world’s most renowned researchers on our investigative roster. Thanks to their efforts, as well as those of our research staff, a suite of innovative research findings surfaced in the past year that are already helping patients across the world experience improved healing and better quality of life. From research conducted through clinical trials, in the laboratory and even using outcomes data, these bench-to-bedside findings have impacted patients in profound ways.

BSWH babies are first to try padded bonnets in research effort that can prevent skull flattening and deformities

BSWH research shows that significant consumption of instant noodles may increase a person’s risk for heart disease

Bench Research

Research conducted in Baylor labs has directly contributed to innovative vaccines, immunologic findings and the development of new drugs that are tested in clinical trials. Last year, such research developed a blood test that helps reveal colon cancer, and helped identify an immune cell that is involved in autoimmune disease.

Clinical Research

Investigators build on research discoveries in the laboratory to conduct clinical trials, which enroll patients to determine the effectiveness and safety of new treatments, devices and medications. In the past year, clinical research conducted at participating Baylor sites has tested new wearable products to prevent an infant’s head from flattening, revealed a new procedure that outperforms open-heart surgery and identified a new dendritic cell vaccine for pancreatic cancer that will soon be tested in clinical trials.

Outcomes Research

Quality-of-care studies, otherwise known as outcomes research, or delivery science, explore the way health care is delivered and identify ways to improve it. Investigators involved in such efforts analyze how to lower cost, improve care and enhance population health on a larger scale. In 2014, such research showed the link between compliance and lower mortality; determined care, outcomes and costs for cases of diabetes, spine issues and other disease states; and more.

Articles

Newsroom

With the number of studies conducted at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute—and the significant contributions our research makes to the field of medicine—it’s important that we find new and exciting ways to keep the public informed. In recent years, we’ve published everything from stories about clinical trials that have made an impact to infographics that provide an easier understanding of our research. In the Newsroom, you’ll find the latest research updates from Baylor Scott & White Research Institute.

Latest Updates

Immunotherapy: The Next Frontier for Treating Disease

How to Deliver Bad News with Empathy

Baylor Scott & White Health Research Could Lead to Development of Novel Vaccines

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The diverse functions of a special cell-recognition lipoprotein, LOX-1, weren’t always fully understood. However, BSWH researchers gained better insight into LOX-1’s role in immune responses through a study recently published in Immunity. Investigators found that the lipoprotein promotes humoral responses, which could allow researchers to design effective vaccines against microbial infections, including influenza viruses and HIV.

BSWH researchers have a few more clues in the fight against autoimmune diseases and have recently published their work in Nature Immunology. Led by Baylor Scott & White Research Institute’s Hideki Ueno, MD, PhD, the study has helped scientists learn more about a special cell known to be involved in autoimmunity, in which the body attacks itself. That insight, according to the researchers, could someday change the treatment for autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

A new study developed at the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancer Research and the Center for Epigenetics, Cancer Prevention and Cancer Genomics at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute has discovered unique metastasis-specific microRNA signatures in primary colorectal cancers that could predict prognosis and distant metastasis in colorectal cancer.

Baylor Scott & White Health Babies are First to Try Padded Bonnets in Research Effort

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New research from BSWH’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) could prevent a common infant problem through a never-before-seen wearable product. Recently approved by the FDA, the Invictus Medical Cranial Support Device (CSD) is an adjustable liquid-filled bonnet that’s specially designed to prevent an infant’s head from flattening. BSWH’s researchers were the first to test the new technology, which works by redistributing pressure on a baby’s soft skull.

Research: Valve Procedure Saves More Lives Than Open-Heart Surgery

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For the first time, a minimally invasive transcatheter valve – tested by Baylor Scott & White Research Institute in Dallas – has been shown to save more lives than open-heart surgery, according to new research revealed at the American College of Cardiology’s 2014 Scientific Sessions and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

A never-before-seen childbirth technique could help a woman’s body heal itself through temperature changes, according to a pilot study from the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute. In a finding that could someday decrease global maternal mortality, BSWH’s team found that cooling a woman’s uterus after a C-section can dramatically reduce postpartum blood loss.

Can Instant Noodles Lead to Heart Disease, Diabetes and Stroke?

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Instant noodle eaters take heed. Recent BSWH research shows that significant consumption of the convenient food product – ramen included – may increase a person’s risk for cardiometabolic syndrome, especially in women. The findings, which were recently published in The Journal of Nutrition, could shed new light on the risks of a dietary habit held by a large part of the world.

Caregivers: Research Shows Opening Visitation Improves Patient Care

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Regardless of the circumstances, hospitalization can be a fearful thing. Patients find themselves in a new environment, surrounded by new people, new sights, new sounds – and often, the only thing that can quell that strange sense of unfamiliarity is having a loved one there to visit.

Immunotherapy: The Next Frontier for Treating Disease

What is immunotherapy? How is it different from other therapies? What diseases does it treat? Check out our infographic to find out.

How to Deliver Bad News with Empathy

Imagine that you’ve just been told, “You have cancer.”

While you imagine the feeling of devastation, numbness or overwhelming fear those three words hold, you’ve likely never pictured the emotional impact the delivery of diagnosis has on the person saying them.

For the medical professional, there is a lot of preparation that goes into the way you deliver a life-changing diagnosis.